Elseworlds: Power
by William Rayne
Summary: AU - Clark: a name associated with power not meant for mortal man. Luthor: a name associated with a thirst for power and control. Clark Luthor: God help us all... Things the way they were never meant to be. EP 2 (Strange Visitors) in progress
1. Prologue

TITLE: Elseworlds-Power

AUTHOR: William Rayne  
EMAIL: knytmare@yahoo.com  
RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: Clark found, taken in and raised by the Luthors. Clark misinterprets his destiny due to Lionel's influence which allows Lillian to have more influence on Lex. The 'brothers' still end up bitter enemies, but who is the lesser evil?

SPOILERS: revised Premier and "Metamorphosis"

PAIRING: none  
DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, email me

DISCLAIMER someone else owns 'em, I'm just taking them out to play. Don't sue me, I have no money 

FEEDBACK: Desired like none other.

NOTES AND NEWS: Thanks to Deia for helping me with story development and being a "über beta queen and grammar Nazi." As always: bold is stressed, italics for thoughts or voice-over, and underlines for sarcasm or disgust.  It occurred to me that if Lex is destined to become corrupt because of his father then how would Clark fair if he were found by Lionel. This AU is the story of Clark's rise as the anti-hero. I fade in and out of Lex's reflections in some of the chapters. This is a *huge* work in progress, so expect possible revisions. Sorry to those who read my "Crossroads" story, but I had trouble with the updater…hopefully I won't have future trouble. And is it just me or is the Author Alert notification email not coming to anyone else either?

Prologue

Gotham City, October 16, 2015

_They say that your life flashes before you in the moments before death…what I didn't expect was for it to start with what happened five minutes ago. I guess I was expecting it to start from the beginning. Life tends to surprise you when you least suspect it, or so my mother use to tell me. I'd give my kingdom for her advice, right about now._

An alarm sounds in Lex's office, one that ironically sounds akin to the London alarms during WWII. _It's come to this. I knew this day would come,_ thinks Lex as he rises from his office chair and grabs his cell phone. As he hurries towards the near-by bookshelf, the CB radio hisses, "Orders, Mr. Luthor?"

"Delaying pattern, fall back as necessary, auxiliary units on full alert. Radio silence after I sign off," Lex instructs as he pulls back a first edition of Huxley's Brave New World. The bookshelf slides to reveal a vault door, which Lex opens and enters.

"Yes sir," responds the voice on the other end as Lex pauses at the vault's threshold.

"Oh and William, tell the troops to pray to whatever gods they worship for mercy, we'll need every miracle we can get," Lex mournfully whispers as he shuts off the phone.

Sealing the door behind him, he can hear the muffled sounds of artillery. He strides towards the podium and taking the box, he waits. 

_Still has a penchant for drama as always, some things never change. Was it meant to end this way? I wish there was another way…_


	2. Chapter 01 Pilot pt 1

TITLE: Elseworlds-Power

AUTHOR: William Rayne  
EMAIL: knytmare@yahoo.com  
RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: Clark found, taken in and raised by the Luthors. Clark misinterprets his destiny due to Lionel's influence which allows Lillian to have more influence on Lex. The 'brothers' still end up bitter enemies, but who is the lesser evil?

SPOILERS: revised Premier and "Metamorphosis"

PAIRING: none  
DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, email me

DISCLAIMER someone else owns 'em, I'm just taking them out to play. Don't sue me, I have no money 

FEEDBACK: Desired like none other.

NOTES AND NEWS: Thanks to Deia for helping me with story development and being a "über beta queen and grammar Nazi." As always: bold is stressed, italics for thoughts or voice-over, and underlines for sarcasm or disgust.  It occurred to me that if Lex is destined to become corrupt because of his father then how would Clark fair if he were found by Lionel. This AU is the story of Clark's rise as the anti-hero. I fade in and out of Lex's reflections in some of the chapters. This is a *huge* work in progress, so expect possible revisions. Sorry to those who read my "Crossroads" story, but I had trouble with the updater…hopefully I won't have future trouble. And is it just me or is the Author Alert notification email not coming to anyone else either?

Chapter 1

October 16, 1989

_I remember it like it was yesterday, I suspect I'll remember until the end of my days. After all, it was the day that changed the fate of the Luthor family. I was flying with my father over the cornfields to Smallville._

"This has got to stop. Open your eyes, Lex," said an exasperated Lionel Luther above the constant thumping of the helicopter blades to a small boy with red hair that is more on the side of orange and very much resembling that of a carrot.

"I can't," Lex replied fearfully, shutting his eyes to the point his face scrunches up.

"Luthors are not afraid. We don't have that luxury. We're leaders," Lionel wearily replied. Seeing no change in Lex's attitude, he leaned closer and whispers, "You have a destiny, Lex. You're never gonna get anywhere with your eyes closed."

_My father was there to make a deal, it's always about business with him. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever end up being like him. Guess I'll never know. Mother had convinced him to take me along on this business trip, Father refused at first but eventually he agreed._

_I wandered out into the cornfields and heard a voice. Father would've disowned me if he had been there, I got scared and ran. Luthors never run, he would've said, Luthors never show fear…it's like blood in the water or something to that extent. Despite being a Luthor, I ran, I fell, and I panicked so much I took out my inhaler. When I looked up, before I could take a breath with the inhaler, I saw a boy crucified and then I saw fire in the sky. I ran again, something hit close by and the shockwave threw me through the air. That was  all I remembered until I found myself in a hospital bed._

****************************************************

Fire erupted at the plant as Lionel finished signing the last of the papers. Startled, he looked up. As the explosions registered, he looked around to find Lex…not where he left him.

Running through the fields, Lionel shouted for his son. As he yelled, he stoped, realizing that the cornfield has been completely flattened, barely noticing a spot where something plowed through the ground. He ran over the ruined stalks, to stop and stare at the destruction. Looking down, he saw a patch of Lex's hair. _What in the…_ he thought as he picked it up, _No, no, no, this can't be happening._ He looked around and saw something.

"Lex…?" he croaked out as the instincts and memories of fatherhood rush back into his mind. Contrary to popular mythology, Lionel Luthor wasn't a vicious man, Ruthless? Yes, but when the future Lillian Luthor met him, he still had a heart. A heart he kept hidden from all others, but a heart none-the-less. Many people thought, including Lionel that if it weren't for Lillian, Lionel Luthor would've become a monster beyond the dreams of the most talented writers. Somehow, Lillian made him into a decent man…a man her father grudgingly approved of marrying. He had always thought of her as his heart, conscience and balance. She had opened a door for him to a world beyond the world he lived in where there was only competition, greed and survival.

Though he had always loathed children, the day Lillian told him she was pregnant was a joyous day for him. For three years of Lex's life, three years he'll never recall, Lionel Luthor was every bit the doting father and husband until he got a call from the family physician. Dropping the phone in shock, he could not believe what he had been told; his wife and son had tested positive for a rare tropical virus and he had to come in immediately for a check up. Finding nothing wrong with his health, Lionel became a man possessed in finding the cause of his family's illness. In his search, he learned from doctors that given the data on the unusual strain of the virus, they had a decade to live at the most before death of some other cause. 

Within the year, Lionel found how it was contracted as well; a man who claims Lionel ruined his life when they were teens. The man vowed to destroy Lionel through those he loved and cherished. That man is still the conscious 'volunteer' to a number of painful experiments in a LuthorCorp subsidiary. 

Lionel grew detached and callous, his way of coping with the eventuality of losing his family, and the only person in this world that saw him as a worthwhile human being. This is the man that Lex would have childhood memories of. 

If Lex had been lucid for even a second, he would have seen the father that was and that Lex wished he could have had. Lionel pulled back the ruined corn covering Lex, lying huddled on the ground, shaking uncontrollably, with a few thin hairs still clinging to his head, but most of his hair had been striped away. His eyes were open, but he was far from lucid. The shock of this sight wars on Lionel's face. Six years of emotional detachment and repression fight against the instincts of a father. "Lex...?"

Just then he saw a hint of movement out of the corner of his eye. A small boy stared back at Lionel. He was naked, had dark hair, and did not appear traumatized by what happened. _What the…_ he thought before he suddenly saw something embedded in the crater he had missed in his search for Lex. It was a roughly egg-shaped metal craft of some kind, buried in the dirt. _My son may be dying still, but someone out there has seen fit to give me a new purpose in this life... _He snapped out of his thoughts as Lex's shaking rattled the corn, bringing him back to the here and now. 

Dropping his cell phone near the crater, he picked up Lex and took the boy's hand to lead him. Wrapping the naked child with his coat; he found a truck and rushed his son to the hospital. Using a payphone, he called LuthorCorp HQ and instructed them to track his cell phone and covertly retrieve an object near it. He'd want a full report from his research staff when he returned.


	3. Chapter 02 Pilot pt 2

TITLE: Elseworlds-Power

AUTHOR: William Rayne  
EMAIL: knytmare@yahoo.com  
RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: Clark found, taken in and raised by the Luthors. Clark misinterprets his destiny due to Lionel's influence which allows Lillian to have more influence on Lex. The 'brothers' still end up bitter enemies, but who is the lesser evil?

SPOILERS: revised Premier and "Metamorphosis"

PAIRING: none  
DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, email me

DISCLAIMER someone else owns 'em, I'm just taking them out to play. Don't sue me, I have no money 

FEEDBACK: Desired like none other.

NOTES AND NEWS: Thanks to Deia for helping me with story development and being a "über beta queen and grammar Nazi." As always: bold is stressed, italics for thoughts or voice-over, and underlines for sarcasm or disgust.  It occurred to me that if Lex is destined to become corrupt because of his father then how would Clark fair if he were found by Lionel. This AU is the story of Clark's rise as the anti-hero. I fade in and out of Lex's reflections in some of the chapters. This is a *huge* work in progress, so expect possible revisions. Sorry to those who read my "Crossroads" story, but I had trouble with the updater…hopefully I won't have future trouble. And is it just me or is the Author Alert notification email not coming to anyone else either?

Chapter 2

October 16, 2001

_When I awoke in the hospital, I found I had a brother and that my asthma as well as my hair was gone. Mother was as perplexed by Father's decision to adopt the boy as I was. Concession was made in the argument when Father let Mother name my brother __Clark__ after mother's father instead of Julian as Father wanted. The matter was never discussed again. For the better part of the years before Mother fell ill, she raised us. Father favored __Clark__, much to Mother's and my chagrin. Father treated me as if my very existence had visited some grave injustice upon him after the meteor shower.  _

"Lex, what are you doing?" asked Clark from the doorway as he saw his brother packing his travel bags.

"You didn't get the memo, Clark?" replied a perplexed Lex to his 'little' brother as he glanced over his shoulder. Looking at the 6'3" teenager standing in his doorway, he realized that his 'little' brother hasn't been little for quite some time. Seeing Clark flummox, Lex elaborated, "It seems our beloved father has decided to send me to Smallville to take charge of the fertilizer plant down there."

The unspoken implication of the statement hung in the air between the two brothers. Before she died, their mother had told Lex to guard his brother and protect him. Lex never told Clark this outright, but he suspected that either Mother had told Clark more or less the same statement, or that Clark figured out that Lex was honoring their mother by keeping him out of Father's games of intrigue as covertly as Lex could. True to his promise, Lex managed to foil most of Lionel's attempts to subvert the boy. Not since Lex was sent away to boarding schools, had the brothers been apart from one another. At least then, Clark had a better chance of holding his own against Lionel's schemes and machinations. Up until now, both brothers had managed to not be their father's son. At this moment, both wondered how this wedge their father was driving would affect them.

"Smallville, huh?" replied a bemused Clark, "Sounds…quaint."

Lex finished packing, took up his bag and with a half-smile to his brother, "I'm sure it is. I know I don't have to tell you to take care and be careful, but…"

"I'll be fine Lex and same to you. Besides, I'm sure I'll see you sometime soon."

Lex nodded at his brother. Knowing that despite all Lex has done to shield him from their father's influence, Clark was a Luthor and knew that Father, sooner, rather than later will send him to spy on Lex.

October 19, 2001

With the wind rushing by him as he runs, Clark smiled. It is in these rare moments that he felt free as a bird and he savored it. The staff at the manor Lex was staying at said he was heading to the fair. Sure, Clark could've called ahead and found him quicker, _But_ _it wouldn't be a surprise then, would it? _Clark thought to himself,_ Besides, Father would've known as well and that girl, Amy, didn't seem like the type to spy for Father. Visit my brother, make sure he's doing fine and get back to Metropolis before Father knows I even left…simple enough plan, what could go wrong?_

            Looking up the road, Clark saw a figure and a flipped over truck ahead in the road. Another truck was approaching as the flipped over vehicle began to show signs of a fire. _They'll never make it in time…_

Putting on an extra burst of speed, Clark got to the truck, ripped off the windshield and pulled the unconscious driver from the cab. As he dragged him across the road, fuel from the leaking gas tank was ignited and the truck exploded. Clark shielded the boy with himself as flames and flying debris engulfed them both. _Sorry Lex, don't know how Father will take the news…wait, shouldn't I be dead? There's heat…I should be, huh?_

Clark was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't notice the driver from the other truck until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Ouch," said a man's voice as the intense heat singed his hand. Clark looked up, uncovering the still-unconscious driver from beneath him. Clark was unhurt and clearly upset by what just happened. The man and Clark stare at one another, amazed until the person Clark rescued began to cough. Clark looked up at them again, afraid, and they looked back at him in wonder. _Shit, witnesses. Gotta think of something before they get too curious, I'll figure out what happened later._

"Uh, careful sir," Clark said to the man to buy some time to think up a cover story, "Prototype Kevlar, I'm surprised it worked this well and pretty glad it did." _Lame, _thought Clark as he scratched his head.

"Kevlar?" said the man.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Clark Luthor," he said, stalling, and held out his hand.

"Luthor?" replies the man with obvious disgust as he looked at the pre-offered hand and walked back to his truck.

"You'll have to forgive my husband," the woman said, apparently recovering from the shock. "I'm Martha Kent and that's my husband, Jonathan," she smiled and for a moment Clark was reminded of Mother, "You don't seem anything at all like your father."

"You know my father?"

"Of him, yes, but then again, I'd suspect there aren't many who don't know of him."

"I would suspect so…" replied Clark and a look of horror came across his face breaking the smile he didn't realize had formed as he reached into his pocket for his cell phone. "We ought to call for an ambulance."

"With an explosion like that, I'm sure someone's called already," said Martha as she reached out her hand to stay Clarks and sure enough, the sound of sirens was soon heard growing nearer.

"I still have to make a call though…"

******************************************************

"Tell that to me again," said Lex, to his brother, with a smile creeping on his face as he drove along the country roads.

Groaning, Clark replied, "Kevlar prototype" His brother's amusement was contagious and Clark started to grin as well. Lex threw Clark a skeptical smirk and with a single chortle, the brothers exploded in laughter.

After a minute of laughter, Lex became somber and said, "I doubt I could've came up with something much better if I were in your position and as amusing as your explanation is…we're still stuck with the problem the Kents potentially pose."

"I don't think they suspect anything, Lex, we can let that go," replied a perplexed Clark.

"Still better to be safe than sorry, little brother. Frankly, I'm more concerned about your 'Kevlar prototype' cover story. From what you tell me, you should be…"

"Dead, I should be dead Lex," Clark finished, "We both know I healed fast when we were little but this is something entirely new."

"I was actually thinking 'injured, scratched, bruised and bleeding' but I'll take your word that you were closer to the explosion than I imagine," Lex stated as he took in the new piece of information. "But, first things first; I'll pay the Kents a visit. I'll drop you off at the mansion so you can change."

"Um…" Clark muttered as he looked down sheepishly at the dashboard.

"You want to come along?"

"No, that's not…uh…you see…I was gonna surprise you with the visit…"

"Surprise is an understatement given our current predicament…" Lex started out and finished as a look of realization crossed his face. "Father doesn't know you're here, does he? You're on your own on that one, Clark. He'll collaborate your story; you're the golden child after all."

"Lex…" said a hurt Clark as he searched for the right thing to say.

"I'm sorry, Clark…that came out more resentful than I intended. What I meant was, don't worry about that part." Lex interrupted as he pulled up to the mansion. He leaned over Clark and opened the passenger side door. "Get yourself cleaned up, little brother."

***********************************************************

As Clark finally found a pair of Lex's pants that he felt comfortable in, he heard a woman's voice echo through the halls, "Mr. Luthor?"

_That's strange, who could that be? _Clark looked quickly though Lex's closet, trying to find a shirt**. **_Why does he favor purple so much? _Clark thought with disgust. He grabbed a towel and started to dry his hair as he walked towards the sound of the voice.

Clark rounded a corner and nearly bowled over a woman and, what he assumed to be her beautiful daughter. _They grow 'em well here in the sticks._

"Mr. Luthor?" the woman eked out. She and the girl seemed nonplussed at the sight of the half-naked boy with a red towel draped over his shoulder. 

"Depends which Luthor you're looking for," he replied, oblivious to the cause of their distress. "I'm Clark," he introduced himself. As he extended his hand, he realized the reason for the awkward silence.

Blushing furiously, an uncomfortable Clark stammered out, "Uh, can you wait in the office…I'll be right back."

Bemused by Clark's sudden change of demeanor, the women stifle a giggle and head towards the office.

A few minutes later, having found a blue dress shirt, Clark walked into the office to find the girl admiring the décor. "Where'd your mother go off to?" he asked, startling the girl out of her thoughts. 

"She's not…" the girl began.

"Sister?"

"Uh no…she's my aunt," replied the girl, "I'm Lana Lang."

"Pleased to meet you. Sorry about earlier, I was looking for a shirt and…"

"It's alright. Besides, it's not the first time I've accidentally walked in on an indecent Luthor. At least you were only half naked this time," Lana said with a mischievous grin.

"You mean?" gulps Clark, "Last time I was…that's where I…I'm sure I'd remember you, er that, um…"

Lana giggled at Clark's reaction. "No, no, no. I was in Metropolis with my aunt five years ago for a horse riding competition. We stopped by your mansion for some reason. I can't remember. There was mention of an indoor pool. I went to check it out and walked in on your brother and a girl skinny-dipping. As I ran out, I bumped into you, walking in. You took one look at what was going on and said, 'Ew, I did not need to see that…' We both managed to get out the door somehow…"

"And when you turned around, I was gone," Clark finished as he remembered the incident, "Sorry about that. That was you though? You look…different…um, grown up…"

"Thank you Mr. Luthor," Lana playfully replies.

"Clark, please. Mr. Luthor is my father."

"Well then Clark, could you at least tell me how you managed to pull the Houdini on me?"

Smiling, Clark said, "A magician never reveals his secrets."

"Glad to see you two are getting along," said a lady's voice behind them. 

"Oh, Nell, I didn't see you get back…"

"Uh, huh," replied Lana's aunt, "I don't think I wouldn't either with this handsome young man charming me."

Acting very much like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Clark looked sheepishly down at his feet.

Nell shot him a knowing grin. "So, uh, Clark…do you have any idea where I can find your brother? We were supposed to meet today to finalize a land agreement."

"Um, he went to the Kents…uh, to see them about some produce. I think. He should be back soon."

Before he can be questioned further, the phone rang and Clark unconsciously picked it up, "Hello?"

"Would you care to explain where you are, son?" said the deceivingly patient voice, one that Clark knew well enough to pick up the seething, venomous anger being held in check behind the facade of pleasantry.

"I'd think the nature of the question answers itself, Father," Clark replies evenly.

A pause. Clark cringed.  _Good one, Clark. Not good. Why'd I say that? I'm in trouble as it is, how'd he know I was here?_

Seconds turn into eternity until it was broken with the words, "Fair enough. Would you care to explain why you are there and why I'm looking at the headline, "**Reclusive Luthor Saves Smallville Football Star**" with an internet news report of your heroics in Smallville and why I got a call from 'The Smallville Torch' asking about our 'prototype Kevlar' product that _you _demonstrated for the public at large?"

"Uh, I'd love to explain now, Father. I really would, but I'm entertaining some guests at the moment and…"

Clark was caught off guard once more as he heared Lex's voice from the doorway, "That's alright Clark, I'll take care of the guests, and you can take the call in the other room."

Throwing Lex a scowl, Clark turned his back on his guests and his brother. "Hold on for a second while I go to the other room." Clark put Lionel on hold and stalked out of the room. 

Lex apologized to Nell for forgetting about their appointment and discretely pulled his brother to his side. "Good luck, wouldn't want to be you in some ways right now."


	4. Chapter 03 Pilot pt 3

TITLE: Elseworlds-Power

AUTHOR: William Rayne  
EMAIL: knytmare@yahoo.com  
RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: Clark: a name associated with power not meant for mortal man. Luthor: a name associated with a thirst for power and control. Clark Luthor: God help us all... Things the way they were never meant to be. 

SPOILERS: revised Premier and "Metamorphosis"

PAIRING: none  
DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, email me

DISCLAIMER someone else owns 'em, I'm just taking them out to play. Don't sue me, I have no money 

FEEDBACK: Desired like none other.

NOTES AND NEWS: Thanks to Deia for helping me with story development and being an "über beta queen and grammar Nazi." Props to Dumont for helping beta. As always: bold italics for stressed, italics for thoughts or voice-over, and underlines for sarcasm or disgust.  This is a *huge* work in progress, so expect possible revisions to previous chapters. Been busy with school, so haven't had a chance to get a lot of chapters beta'd, proofed and edited. Thank you for your patience, I promise to get them out to you as soon as they are ready to be published. I am looking for beta readers and editors to help with this, if you'd like to volunteer, IM me…I like to screen those I'm trusting with 'my works'. 

209

Chapter 3

Given the circumstances, Clark had begun to believe Lex's claim that he was the golden child, since his Father had chastised Clark for his indiscretion, but compared to what he'd seen Lex get in the past, he knew he had gotten off easy. That, however, didn't mean he wasn't still peeved when he got off the phone. The irritation had more to do with the fact that Clark wasn't sure who to be more aggravated with: his Father, or the reporter who managed to break the story containing his identity. The last thing he expected was for a high school reporter to expose him, and as he ran to Smallville High, he couldn't help but grudgingly admire the tenacity of the reporter that managed to break the story that linked him to the accident.

As he pushed back thoughts of the conversation with his Father about the incident, Clark ran and hoped to find out how much more this Chloe Sullivan had stumbled onto in her investigation. Clark was impressed that a high school reporter managed to find out his involvement in the matter. Impressed and equally annoyed, but impressed none-the-less, Clark was curious to evaluate the potential threat she represented…or rather the threat his Father claimed she could become to Clark's secret.

When Clark walked into the school newspaper room, the last thing he expected was the petite blond that was absorbed in the work she was doing at the computer monitor. He had expected the person who posed a threat to his very way of life to be more…well, imposing. The girl before him was just that. A girl, not the object of potential menace that Father had implanted in his mind. Clark berated himself for letting his Father play on his emotions with such ease. He cleared his throat and startled the girl from her reverie at the monitor.

As Clark chuckled to himself, Chloe glared at him, and a split second later, recomposed herself.

"Do you make a habit of appearing out of nowhere, or is today just a special occasion?" she asked quizzically.

Her choice of words alarmed him and as he searched for an appropriate answer, she took the offensive by adding, "You _are_ Clark Luthor, adopted son of billionaire, Lionel Luthor, are you not? 'Cause if you aren't, you could make a fortune as an entertainer specializing in impersonations."

  "Are all the women in this quaint town this _charming_? Or are you the exception?"

"I prefer to be upfront and honest, Mr. Luthor. Traits I'm sure you're _undoubtedly_ familiar with."

"Please, Miss Sullivan, call me Clark. Mr. Luthor is my father, and I am very much not my father."

"Very well, as long as we're engaging in pleasantries, I'll let you call me Chloe. Now on to the reason for your visit…I'm sure my unique _charm_ isn't what I owe the pleasure of your visit to. _If it is, I'm very much flattered_."

"You really don't know why I'm here?" Clark responded, dumbfounded. A moment later he realized her tactic to have him confirm her suspicions. 

As he recovered from the faux paus, he decided on a different tactic as he approached her desk and stated, "I just wanted to congratulate you on your investigative skills, Chloe."

"I'm sure that Luthor charm works on debutants in Metropolis, Clark, but flattery won't get you the name of my source."

As he sat on her desk, Clark chuckled, "Your source? I'm fairly certain of whom they are."

Acknowledging Chloe's apprehension at his statement, Clark elaborated, "But that is neither here nor there. The reason I came here was in the hopes that you could provide answers to some questions I had regarding the incident."

Intrigued and relieved, Chloe relaxed, sat back in her chair and replied, "That all depends on the questions."

"Even without my involvement, I'm sure you would agree that the incident, in and of itself, is strange. I was curious to see what your investigation into the matter has turned up."

"And I'm equally curious as to why a man of your influence would bother asking a high school reporter when you would have a much more efficient time with the local police."

"Well, as your headline stated, I am the 'Reclusive Luthor'. Very rarely does my name make print, let alone headlines. It seems to me, that an investigative reporter who manages to bring me into the spotlight, might just have better information than the local police or at the very least, more open theories."

Chloe smiled coyly and reaffirmed, "Flattery, Clark, flattery. I'm failing to see what I would get from sharing what I know with someone who would prefer to lurk in the shadows…"

As he saw that a bout of wits would take much more time than he cared to invest, Clark conceded this battle and offered, "How about an interview of my account of what happened? Barring any questions on matters that may compromise LuthorCorp, such as the Kevlar…would that be enough motivation?"

***********************************************************

"YOU WHAT?!?!!"

"Calm down, Lex, I think I came up on the better end of the deal in the exchange so no harm, no foul?"

Taking a few deep breaths to recompose himself, Lex reattempted to make his brother see his point of view. "You're absolutely sure of this, Clark?"

Affronted by his brother's continued insinuation of incompetence since Clark got back to the mansion and told Lex what happened with his visit with Chloe, Clark snapped back, "Of course, what do you take me for? _I'M NOT A FUCKING CHILD, LEX_! I understand what's at stake here. I collaborated the cover story and learned more than you did with the Kents. Information, I might add, that we wouldn't have gotten in any other way. I'd think knowing that an assailant could've witnessed my abilities is more _goddamn_ important than how I got that information."

Involuntarily and nonchalantly stepping back from his brother's rising anger, Lex kept his voice as neutral as possible to keep the fight verbal, "I'm not saying that isn't important, Clark, but I'm your brother and I'm frightened of what could happen to you."

Clark calmed down visibly a bit, Lex smiled faintly and pressed on gently, "So _humor me_ for a moment please?"

*Grunt*

"Just tell me, _verbatim_, what was said after your offer was accepted?"

Irked by the request, Clark began to respond, "She asked me…" As he struggled to remember the exact conversation, he finally, frustratingly finished by hissing, "Damn you, Lex. Always having to find fault with the things I do, you're _no better than Father_."

"I wasn't trying to…." Lex's words fell on deaf ears as the sudden change in the air current signaled Clark's angry run from the conversation. _Fine, run away as usual, brother. I'll clean up this mess if something comes up from it, but no matter how much or how far you run...you'll eventually have to face the fact that your actions will have considerably greater significance or consequence than any other human being's. When you do, you'll see that your impulses will harm more than just you._

*************************************************************

He ran, not knowing where he was going but just wanting to get as far from Lex and the mansion as possible. He ran angrily, eventually realizing that he was angrier with himself than at Lex and no matter how much he ran, he wouldn't be able to run from himself. Slowing down, he tried to figure out how to solve his latest slip up as he kicked a stone and silently cursed God for his abilities. _Why can't I just be normal?_

"Who's there?"

"It's me," Clark said as he stepped out to the open, and stood in front of a winged angel statue, "Clark."

"Clark Luthor?" she said, coming closer. "What are you doing creeping around the woods?"

"You'd never believe me if I told you," Clark recognized Lana from earlier and feeling awkward, turned to leave adding, "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you"

"Clark, wait," she stopped and walked toward him, "I just wasn't expecting to see anyone out here. Are you okay?"

Stopping, he looked over his shoulder and said wryly, "I'm hanging out in a graveyard. Does this strike you as okay behavior?"

"Hey... I'm here too."

"Good point. What's your story?"

She moved to stand in front of him and said, "Can you keep a secret?"

Clark hesitated before answering, "I'm the Fort Knox of secrets."

"I... came out here to talk with my parents," she laughed and turned away slightly, "You must think I'm pretty weird, you know, conversing with dead people."

Puzzled for a split second before he remembered the meteor shower that happened twelve years ago and the magazine Father kept framed in his office, he recalled where he's seen her before and said, "No, I don't think you're weird, Lana."

She smiled at him.

"Do you remember them?"

"They died when I was three."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Clark." Amused, she smiled warmly, "C'mon, I'll introduce you." She takes him by the hand and leads him to a gravestone set in the ground.

"Mom, Dad, this is Clark Luthor," and turning to him said, "Say hi."

Not quite sure how to react, he waved awkwardly to the gravestone, "Hi."

Lana chuckled, crouched down and set the flowers down on the stone. It read, "Lang, Lewis (1957-1989) and Laura (1959-1989), forever loved"

"Yeah, he is kinda shy," she said to the grave and knelt down, "How should I know?" Turning towards Clark as he also knelt down, she asked, "Mom wants to know if you're upset about a girl?"

Clark shook his head 'no'.

"Dad wants to know if you're upset about a guy?"

Strongly and quickly, he said, "No. No."

Laughing, she added, "He has a twisted sense of humor."

For the first time since this conversation began, he smiled.

"Seriously, Clark, why are you out here?"

"Lana, do you ever feel like your life was supposed to be something different?" he said more intensely than he cared to, and worried if she thought he was crazy.

She just nodded as if she understood exactly what he meant and replied, "Sometimes I dream I'm at school, waiting for Nell to pick me up. But she doesn't come, so my parents drive up. They're not dead, they're just... really late."

Smiling, she continued, "And I get in the car and we drive back to my real life in Metropolis. That's usually when I wake up. But for a minute, I'm totally happy."

Suddenly turning somber, she finished, "Until I realize I'm still alone."

As she stopped talking, there was a silence, and then Clark leaned toward the gravestone slightly.

"What's that, Mrs. Lang?" he paused and added, "Yeah, I'll-- I'll tell her."

Turning back towards Lana, he stated, "Your mom wants you to know you're never alone, that she's always looking over you. No matter what."

She smiled, "She really say that?"

"Oh yeah. She's really quite chatty once you get her started."

Lana continued to smile at him and for the first time that day, Clark felt like something is finally going his way.

********************************************************

"So, I saw the 'Smallville Torch' after you left the mansion…" Lana said as they walked down the dirt road.

"Oh, that, it's…um, uh…no big deal."

"No it is," Lana stopped and looked at him directly, "Thank you."

Clark stared at her, puzzled. She elaborated, "The boy you saved, Whitney, is my boyfriend."

"Oh," Clark said weakly, as he tried to hide how crestfallen he was.

"I'm sorry, for a second I forgot you're not from around here…I just felt, for a moment, like I've known you for more than a day. You know?" she finished lamely.

Clark nodded and they continued for a few minutes in silence before they neared her home.

"Thanks for walking me home."

"Beats creeping around the woods," Clark replied cheerfully at the break from the silence.

Laughing and smiling fondly at him, Lana said, "This was nice. We should do it again."

As they stopped near the house, Clark smiled, "Yeah, we should."

"Are you in town permanently or just here for a visit?"

"Just for the weekend but I'm probably going to visit quite a bit."

"Oh," Lana walked over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Good night, Clark."

As she walked away, she turned to smile fondly at him again. Once she turns back away, Clark smiled too, and walked back to the mansion. As they both disappear, a boy watched Clark walk down the dirt path and seethed silently. _Neither you nor the quarterback deserves her attentions, rich boy. Guess I'll have to squash you too._


	5. Chapter 04 Pilot pt 4

TITLE: Elseworlds-Power

AUTHOR: William Rayne  
EMAIL: knytmare@yahoo.com  
RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: Clark: a name associated with power not meant for mortal man. Luthor: a name associated with a thirst for power and control. Clark Luthor: God help us all... Things the way they were never meant to be. 

SPOILERS: revised Premier and "Metamorphosis"

PAIRING: none  
DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, email me

DISCLAIMER someone else owns 'em, I'm just taking them out to play. Don't sue me, I have no money 

FEEDBACK: Desired like none other.

NOTES AND NEWS: Thanks to Deia for helping me with story development and being an "über beta queen and grammar Nazi." Props to Dumont for helping beta. As always: bold italics for stressed, italics for thoughts or voice-over, and underlines for sarcasm or disgust.  This is a *huge* work in progress, so expect possible revisions to previous chapters. Been busy with school, so haven't had a chance to get a lot of chapters beta'd, proofed and edited. Thank you for your patience, I promise to get them out to you as soon as they are ready to be published. I am looking for beta readers and editors to help with this, if you'd like to volunteer, IM me…I like to screen those I'm trusting with 'my works' (see disclaimer). Oh yeah, I'm horrible with tenses, so please forgive me, I'll try to clean and tighten that up some in the future.

234

Chapter 4

Pleased with the unexpected turn of events, Clark decided to take his time going back to the mansion, and it was quite late by the time he to got there. Even after the long walk home, he still had a bounce in his step as he went up the stairs. Halfway up them, he feels a weight on his back and he audibly crashes down onto the stairs.

"What the…?!?!?" as he looks up, recovering from the fall.

Footfalls come the hallway below and a beam of flashlight waves over into Clark's eyes as he looks back to see who they belong to.

"Clark?" says a confused Lex as he helps his brother up, "What happened? Are you all right?"

"Shhh," Clark responds as he hears a sound and proceeds back up the steps with his brother in tow. He listed carefully then stated, "Someone attacked me. Listen, do you hear that?"

The sound stops and so do the Luthor brothers at the top of the stairway. Lex points the flashlight towards the direction they last heard it. As he scans the walls and then the ceiling, the light flashes over a body. As he brings it back into focus, the brothers barely get a good look at a boy clinging to the ceiling. The boy propels himself off the ceiling, kicking Clark away from his brother, pushing Lex down the stairs then propelling himself back into the darkness. Clark barely has time to react to the events and rather than chase down the assailant, he bursts into super-speed to save his brother from potentially breaking his neck.

"Did you get a good look at his face?" Clark asks Lex as they search the rest of the mansion with flashlights.

"No, it came right off the ceiling at me. It's almost as if he--"

"--wasn't entirely human?" Clark finishes.

"Yeah, exactly. How about you? Did you get a good look?"

"Good enough to be able to ID him, but somehow I doubt we'll be looking at a police line-up for him anytime soon."

"True. We need to figure out who he is."

"I'd settle for more light than these flashlights, what happened to the backup?"

"Clark, we get attacked and you have to wonder about the generator?" Lex asks dubiously as his brother turns red from embarrassment. Seeing that his brother caught his meaning and wishing to avoid another argument, Lex changes the subject back to the attacker's identity, "We've been looking for almost half an hour, we would have had another attack by now if he was stupid. He's long gone by now and we're at a disadvantage. He knows who we are, and possibly what you can do. All we know is that he can stick to the ceiling, and we have no clue what-so-ever who he is."

"I know, Lex. It's not like we can go to the cops about this, and we're not in Metropolis so using our networks is out…" Clark stops to ponder out loud in an attempt to find an answer to the mystery surrounding their foe.

"I don't know about that last thought, Clark."

"Bribes only work when you know who to bribe, Lex."

"Not where I was going, dear brother. That Chloe Sullivan girl seemed to know who to bribe for information, and you seem to have gotten on her good side."

Clark smiles as he sees Lex's plan, "That's right."

"Besides, something tells me this is somehow related to that accident. If anything, we can sell Miss Sullivan on the angle of our Spidey attacking that boy you saved, and hopefully that will keep her from prying into you too much."

"I'll talk to her first thing in the morning."

***********************************************************

"You believe me?" asks a baffled Clark.

"You don't know the half of it," replies a straight-faced Chloe and beckons Clark to follow her, "I think I would have a better time explaining why I believe you if I showed you."

She leads him to a dark room, turns on the light and they walk in. Pointing to a wall inside, "It started out as a scrapbook and just sorta... mutated," she states proudly.

"What is it?"

"I call it 'The Wall of Weird'."

The wall is covered in photos, clippings, and papers. She stands expansively in front of it, proud. Clark eyes it warily. On it are close-ups and clippings of a man with fingers appearing and disappearing on his hands, of glow-in-the dark geodes, and tabloid headlines.

"It's every strange, bizarre, and unexplained event that's happened in Smallville since the meteor shower. That's when it all began -- when the town went schizo."

Clark continues to eye the wall.

After a minute, he turns his attention back to Chloe, "This explains why you believe me, but it doesn't bring us any closer to finding out _exactly_ who Spidey is."

"You said he looked about our age?" Taking a cue off of Clarks nod, she heads back towards the main office, "Doesn't hurt to try the yearbook. Wait right here, I'll get a copy."

Clark turns his attention back to the wall and notices the Time cover with Lana among the collection of articles. Before he can comment on it, Chloe returns with the yearbook and it only takes a brief moment for them to find who they're looking for.

"You're sure that's him?"

"I _know_ that's him," Clark replies as he matches the picture with the name.

"It would make sense that Bugboy is your mysterious Spidey."

"Bugboy?"

"Sorry, it's a nickname he has. Real big into entomology."

"Greg Arkin." Clark says, committing the name and face to memory, "But how'd he suddenly become superhuman?"

*****************************************************

"I found an article about Amazonian tribesmen who took on the traits of the insects they'd been bitten by, but nothing as extreme as what you're talking about with Greg Arkin. Did you have any luck?"

Clark perks up from trying to research the origin of Greg's abilities.

"Only that Greg didn't move to Smallville until after the meteor shower, so he couldn't have been exposed to the blast," says a voice from behind Clark, "Whatcha doin' researching him anyways, Chloe? And who's this dude?"

Clark turns around to see a short, pudgy African-American kid standing in the doorway. Before he can introduce himself and ask how he knows Bugboy, the kid cuts him off by spitting on the floor in front of him.

"Luthor," he says with a fiery passion and turns to leave.

"PETE, wait," Chloe yells as she runs after him, leaving Clark alone in the room. The argument in the hallway barely registers to Clark as he, for the first time in years, fights to keep his anger in check. _Who does he think he is…spitting at me? Me?!_ In the past, it was Mother's voice that calmed his anger but today, Father's words echoed in his mind, managing to soothe his rising anger. _People are always at their weakest when they're angry._ Realizing that Pete's insult wasn't what he was here for, he brings himself into a neutral state as Pete and Chloe walk back into the office.

"You owe me," Pete says to Chloe. Looking at Clark, he adds, "_Big time_."

As Pete heads to the opposite side of the room, Clark ignores the blatant glares and focuses his attention on Chloe who finishes her apology about the incident, and changes the subject back to Greg.

"I'm thinking Greg's bugs could have been exposed to the meteor shower. Think about it, Clark. Pieces of that meteor are still buried all over Smallville. The whole habitat's infected."

Clark nods that he's following along.

"So, when boy catches bugs, and bugs bite boy... you end up with a Bugboy who really is bug-like."

"Chloe," Clark says as he processes the theory, "you can't even walk out your door in the summertime without being bitten by a mosquito. Why don't we have a whole town of bug people?"

Chloe rebuts, "Uh, because you need a certain level of toxins to cause a mutation. Those Amazonian tribesmen were all attacked by swarms."

"Greg did keep tanks of bugs in his room. Maybe they got sick of the view and staged a revolt," Pete adds in from the other side of the room.

Chloe walks back over to the papers she was looking at before Pete arrived, "Well, according to this, bugs have a very short life cycle. So, if he really has gone Kafka, let's hope he isn't in the mating phase."

********************************************************

"I'd rather not be here," Pete states emphatically to Chloe as the three peer into the window of the Arkin residence.

"Pete, we…I need you here. You're the only one that knows Greg, let alone his family. Besides, if this is somehow related to Whitney, then who knows who else on the football team may be attacked next," Chloe replies, as Pete glares at Clark.

Chloe's smile and tone cause Pete to stop his verbal complaints. He mouths the words 'OWE ME' to Chloe before changing the subject, "The place is a mess…Greg's mom is a mega-neat-freak."

"Looks like no one's home, let's have a look around," says Chloe as she slides up the window.

**********************************************************

Inside the Arkin house, Pete and Clark find the bathtub is filled with bits of molted skin.

"Aw, man, that's disgusting. What is it?" Pete says.

"I think its skin. He must be molting," Clark replies as he makes a face.

The room is steamy. Chloe calls from another room.

"You guys better come in here!"

Both leave the bathroom in a hurry.

"Guys?"

Clark and Pete enter Greg's room. They see that it's covered in webs and cocoons. Clark stares at the cocoons and notices something.

"Man I knew guys had the hots for her, but _damn_, that _ain't right_," Pete says and Clark turns to see the cause of the comment.

"I think Greg's found his mate," Chloe adds in.

On the TV, a home-made video of Lana having a picnic is playing. It was obviously filmed by Greg. Returning his attention to the room, Clark hurries over to a floor-to-ceiling cocoon in the corner of the room.

"Clark? What do you see?" Chloe inquires.

Pete and Chloe watch him approach the cocoon carefully. He slowly reaches up and pulls at the webbing, ripping it open. A decaying body falls out and Pete confirms that it is Greg's mom. The three recoil from the sight.

"Lana," they all say in realization.

Clark turns towards Pete asking, "Where would he go with her? Tell me."

 Pete blanches and then responds angrily to the demand, "What makes you think I'd know, and why should I tell _you?_!"

"A girl is in danger and all you think about is some grudge you have against my family?" Clark retorts heatedly, stepping towards Pete.

"Check the testosterone, you two," Chloe says as she steps between them. Turning to Pete, she says, "He has a point. Lana could be in danger, do you know or not?"

"There's this old tree fort his dad built in the woods when we were kids…" Pete says as he explains where it is.

Clark, still emotional from the exchange, begins to gloat until Chloe turns towards him saying, "And you'd do well to remember, Clark, that your family has _fucked over_ a lot of people in this town and that we never had to help you in the first place. Saving Whitney yesterday doesn't begin to make up for that, but it's a start. Don't start making me think you're every bit of the Luthor reputation or I'll make you regret our help."

Smiling at Chloe putting a Luthor in his place, Pete looks at Clark and asks, "What makes you think you can save her? Way you tell it, Greg almost killed you and your brother yesterday."

Clark storms towards the door, pauses, turns to look at Pete over his shoulder, and with a hint of smirk replies, "I'll save her because I can. It's what I do. Didn't you read the 'Torch' yesterday?"

"Didn't you read the 'Torch' yesterday?" Pete says in a falsetto voice, mockingly as Clark leaves. Turning to Chloe, he asks, "Explain to me, _why_ we just helped that cocksucker out?"

"Because, even as much as you deny it, the thought of a Luthor that helps people is intriguing. And because, so far, he's done the right thing, which is completely contrary to what we know about his family."

At Pete's scoff, she adds, "Besides, I got him to agree yesterday that I get exclusives on any more heroics he's involved in. And he's hiding something, I can feel it. Whatever it is, I'm going to find out… no Luthor can be that good and selfless, it has to be an act."

"Whatever," Pete replies cynically, "In that case, I'm going on the record right now in saying that 'this won't end well'. The road to hell is paved with good intentions and that's _especially_ true when it comes to Luthors."


	6. Chapter 05 Pilot Fin

TITLE: Elseworlds-Power

AUTHOR: William Rayne

EMAIL: knytmare@yahoo.com

RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: Clark: a name associated with power not meant for mortal man. Luthor: a name associated with a thirst for power and control. Clark Luthor: God help us all... Things the way they were never meant to be. 

SPOILERS: revised Premier and "Metamorphosis"

PAIRING: none

DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, email me

DISCLAIMER someone else owns 'em, I'm just taking them out to play. Don't sue me, I have no money 

FEEDBACK: Desired like none other.

NOTES AND NEWS: Thanks to Deia for helping me with story development and being an "über beta queen and grammar Nazi." Props to DuMont for helping beta. As always: bold italics for stressed, italics for thoughts or voice-over, and underlines for sarcasm or disgust.  

This is a *huge* work in progress, so expect possible revisions to previous chapters. Been busy with school, so haven't had a chance to get a lot of chapters beta'd, proofed and edited. Thank you for your patience, I promise to get them out to you as soon as they are ready to be published. I am looking for beta readers and editors to help with this, if you'd like to volunteer, IM me…I like to screen those I'm trusting with 'my works' (see disclaimer). 

Oh yeah, I'm horrible with tenses, so please forgive me, I'll try to clean and tighten that up some in the future.

Lastly, this concludes the first 'episode', don't worry I have more to go since I plan on going way into the future as the prologue indicates. Do expect the time line to jump.

267

Chapter 5

He ran at super-speed through a cornfield. He stopped, saw the tree fort, and climbed the ladder to it without breaking pace. Pushing up the trap door to the fort, Clark saw Lana lying across the room, unconscious, wrapped in a thin, white cocoon of web silk. Clark was worried as he climbed all the way inside and walked towards her.

"Get away from her," Greg said, perched up against a wall, sitting coolly overlooking Lana.

"Greg, I know what's happened to you."

"Then you know that I've been freed."

"You're a slave to your instincts."

"I have no rules, rich boy," Bugboy said as he climbed down to stand in front of Clark, "I eat what I want. I go where I want. And I take what I want."

"You're not taking her."

"Then try and stop me."

Clark moved to advance on Greg, but Greg rushed him, pushing them both out the side of the fort. The two fell, in a mess of broken boards and tree branches, to the ground.

Clark recovered immediately and looked around, but Greg was gone. As he looked into the distance, he saw Greg leap easily over a tall fence with an old wooden 'Creekside Foundry' sign. Clark got up and followed him.

Inside Creekside Foundry, Clark looked around to see abandoned metal and equipment scattered about. Sunlight streamed into broken windows as he immediately began to feel sick. He pushed through the sickness, going deeper into the foundry. As he did, he walked past strewn meteor rocks that were glowing green. Looking around for Greg, Clark felt weaker and sicker. He leaned for support on the beams as he strained to walk. Greg appeared behind him unnoticed, and he picked up a large metal pipe to smash Clark in the back with. Clark was flung across the building and landed amongst some rocks. Dropping the huge pipe, Greg smiled, as Clark was clearly suffering.

Clark was in pain, wondering why it was so, since he had survived an explosion. His thoughts were redirected to the fact that his hand started to change, becoming rough and covered with green veins, causing him pain. Despite the agony, Clark knew he had a slight advantage in that Greg thought his suffering was from the blow, but he began to ponder what the true source was. Looking at the strange, green, glowing rocks he was laying in, he wondered if they were the reason.

"You shouldn't have followed, Luthor. This isn't something you can _buy_ your way out of," Greg taunted. Spotting his prey, he added, "Did you know the buffalo ant can lift thirty times its own body weight?"

Clark saw it coming, but couldn't do anything to prevent Greg from grabbing him by the jacket and hurling him across the building again. Greg, smiling, hopped across the floor like a grasshopper. Clark struggled up from where he had landed.

 "Clark...?"

Clark climbed up onto some grating and spied a large metal concave nearby.

"Clark, where are you?" Greg called out as Clark climbed into the metal hull where he can hide.

"I just want to play."

Immediately, as Clark hid in the metal, he began to feel better. He saw his hand returning to normal from its deteriorated state.

"Clarkie... come out!"

Puzzled at this sudden change, Clark examined the metal hull. _It's lined with lead. These old things have more lead than iron…or maybe it's the iron?_

His thoughts were cut short by Greg, "Give it up, Luthor! You can't fight natural law! Only the strong survive."

_You get cocky, you get sloppy and right now, kid, you're a mess._ Clark left his lead-lined hiding place. He surprised Greg from behind, grabbing him and pressing him up against a wall.

**"**Did you really think you could hide from me?" Greg asked casually as if totally in control of the situation.

Clark smashed Greg into the opposite concrete wall and then hurled him across the building. Landing in a heap, Greg looked surprised for a moment, and then reached up to a chain hanging above him for support as he tried to stand, his other hand hitting a lever beside him. The chain was freed, and a huge metal chute fell on top of Greg. Clark ran over, but it was too late. As he looked on, hundreds of insects scuttled out from under the metal and scurried off. Clark ran out of the foundry with all the speed he could muster.

He ran back to Lana, finding her covered by the mesh of Greg's cocoon, still out cold. He carefully pried apart the webbing and as she began to rouse. He heard sirens approaching quickly. Self-preservation and the fear of another incident with Father overcame his concern for her and he ran. _It's bad enough I have to explain to Him the deal I made with Chloe, no need to add the cost of keeping my name out of this to Father's plate._

**************************************************************

Back at Luthor Manor, Clark stood with his hands on the balcony rail of Lex's office gazing at the stars, mulling over the day's events. The sound of his brother's voice broke his reverie.

"Quit blaming yourself, you couldn't have saved him," Lex said as he too leaned against the banister in a similar manner.

"No, Lex, I think I might've been able to. Something just kept me from…"

"Of course something stopped you, Clark. Whatever it was in that foundry that was making you weak, not anything you had control over."

"Maybe if I…" Clark said more to his hands than to Lex.

Lex grabbed his little brother's shoulder, turned him around, looked him straight in the eye, and said, "No, no and no, Clark. For all your talents, whatever made you weak in there was some serious mojo, that's what kept you from saving him…you can't save everyone, Clark. You try doing that and you'll get everyone killed."

Grinning mischievously, he added, "Besides, you're not Warrior Angel, you're human…my weirdly, freakishly abnormal, possibly a mutant-but-still-human-none-the-less brother."

Laughing at his older brother despite himself, Clark said, "You and your comics, Lex. I guess you're right, though. This isn't some storybook, people die…it's the way of the world. Promise me that if I _ever_ end up being a strange visitor from another planet, flying around in some lame outfit…you'll be there to make sure it doesn't go to my head."

Chuckling at his little brother's ribbing, Lex responded, "I promise."

Getting past their amusement, the brothers once again turned and leaned on the railing to look out at the world through new eyes. "Now that we're past that, we need to figure out what made you weak and what stopped it. Also, you will eventually have to talk to Father…"

Lex stopped talking and they looked at each other, and simultaneously said, "Right. The story for Father first."


	7. Chapter 06 Strange Visitors pt 1

TITLE: Elseworlds-Power

AUTHOR: William Rayne

EMAIL: knytmare@yahoo.com

RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: Clark: a name associated with power not meant for mortal man. Luthor: a name associated with a thirst for power and control. Clark Luthor: God help us all... Things the way they were never meant to be. 

SPOILERS: none

PAIRING: none

DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, email me

DISCLAIMER someone else owns 'em, I'm just taking them out to play. Don't sue me, I have no money 

FEEDBACK: Desired like none other.

NOTES AND NEWS: Thanks to Deia for helping me with story development and being an "über beta queen and grammar Nazi." Props to DuMont for helping beta. As always: bold italics for stressed, italics for thoughts or voice-over, and underlines for sarcasm or disgust.  

This is a *huge* work in progress, so expect possible revisions to previous chapters. Been busy with school, so haven't had a chance to get a lot of chapters beta'd, proofed and edited. Thank you for your patience, I promise to get them out to you as soon as they are ready to be published. I am looking for beta readers and editors to help with this, if you'd like to volunteer, IM me…I like to screen those I'm trusting with 'my works' (see disclaimer). 

Oh yeah, I'm horrible with tenses, so please forgive me, I'll try to clean and tighten that up some in the future.

I've decided since the stories are supposed to be flashbacks from Lex until I get back to the futurefic/AU that I presented in the prologue, to start out each 'episode' with Lex commentary, hope it works. 

267

Chapter 6

_I never would've guessed that I would end up holding up my end of what I thought was a joke. Then again, you know what they say: Hindsight is 20/20. Even with that knowledge, there isn't a night since this all began that I wonder if I had picked up something earlier, then perhaps I wouldn't be in my current position. Of course, I suspect that my subconscious picked up on the subtle changes my brother was exhibiting. I never really understood at the time why I hid the research in Level Three from him, I just thought  that right then wasn't the right time to tell him. Perhaps if I… no, there are so many maybes. I must face the reality that is. I might as well wonder if things would've been different if __Clark__ hadn't been found by us. It's ironic to wonder that considering that was a question my dear brother tended to ask over those first few years of discovering himself and his power._

_For a long time I've blamed Father for __Clark__ and my estrangement these past few years, but I have come to realize that we were all at fault. We are, after all, Luthors, it's in our nature to destroy that which is beautiful. I just hope that it is also in our nature to build beauty out of the destruction._

----------------------------------------------------------

Smallville, January 7, 2002

_Now this isn't what I expected,_ Clark thought as he walked down the hallway, ignoring the looks of hatred and revulsion cast at him. After two months of pleading and promising, Clark finally got Father to let him transfer to Smallville High. Though he suspected the transfer had more to do with keeping tabs on Lex than his wishes, Clark was glad none-the-less. That is until now, today he was regretting his desire to come here, but true to the Luthor pride…he soldiered on, seeing the hostility as a challenge he must overcome.

"Hey Luthor!" boomed a familiar voice from down the hall, interrupting Clark's musings. _Great, just fucking great.__ Thanks Lex,_ Clark thought, as he rolled his eyes up and turned to see Whitney stalking down the hall towards him.

Just what do you think you're doing here?" Whitney challenged as he looked Clark dead in the eyes.

Ignoring the murmurs of agreement from the students that had gathered to watch the confrontation, Clark returned the look with just as much intensity and replied smoothly, "It's a free country, last time I checked."

The hall became quiet as the two stared at each other, neither flinching nor backing down. With the sound of the bell ringing, the crowd waited for one of them to make a move. Unfortunately the showdown was cut short by the sound of Principal Kwan's voice.

"Why aren't you people in class?" he asked and upon seeing reason for a crowd, directed his question to Clark and Whitney. "Is there a problem here, gentlemen?" he questioned with authority.

"No sir," both said while not breaking eye contact with one another.

"Good. Now I suggest everyone gets to their classroom before you find yourselves in detention," with those words, the crowd began to part, and Kwan turned his attention to the boys. "That goes, especially, for the both of you. I don't want to see this again or we're going to have a problem."

Kwan took both boys by the arms and sent them off in separate directions. They take the hint and walk. As he watched both of them head to class, Kwan rubbed his temple and sighed, "This is going to be a long semester."

******************************************************

Clark walked into his English class, and no one was sure if he was red because of the confrontation, or because he was embarrassed about being late. The teacher just gave him a look, as Clark spotted an open seat by a familiar face. Taking his seat, the teacher resumed his lesson.

"I gotta say, you Luthors sure know how to make impressions. I thought Lex was supposed to be one making headlines, Clark, or you feeling left out?" whispered Chloe as she leaned over a bit to get his attention.

"No comment."

Smirking, Chloe said, "Suit yourself, but if I were you, I'd keep in mind that besides a certain Ms. Lang… I'm about the closest thing you got to a friend in this place."

Sighing, Clark replied, "We'll talk at lunch."

As Chloe smiled, Clark hastily added, "Off the record."

She didn't get a chance to reply before the teacher cleared his throat and the both of them focused their attention on the lesson.

*****************************************************

As the bell for lunch rang, Clark met Chloe outside of her classroom, as they had agreed upon after English class.

Seeing him, Chloe remarked, "I'm surprised."

"Why?"

"Figured you'd ditch me, fearing I'd somehow try to turn this into an interview."

Smiling, Clark replied, "We already agreed this was off the record. Besides, I have two good reasons to have lunch with you."

"Oh?"

"The foremost being that you and Lana are pretty much the closest thing I have to friends in this town besides Lex."

"And the other?"

"From what I hear, you stop by the mansion often enough that I can't avoid you forever even if I wanted to."

Laughing, Chloe stated, "Well, your brother has been rather helpful both to the town and to me since he came here."

As Clark started to head to the front entrance of the school, Chloe stopped him and said, "Wrong way, the cafeteria is that way," and pointed over her shoulder.

Puzzled, Clark said, "I know. I thought we should have an open lunch."

"Unless we're seniors, I don't see that happening."

Grinning, Clark rebutted, "For someone who spends a lot of time with my brother, you seem to have forgotten some of the perks of knowing a Luthor."

Chuckling inwardly at Chloe's reaction, Clark offered his arm, "So you in or you out?" As Chloe took his arm, he smiled.

***************************************************

"So I heard the official gossip version of your hallway encounter with Whitney, care to tell me your side?" Chloe asked as she dipped her fries into sweet-sour sauce.

"How can you eat that?" Clark stared blatantly at her fries.

"Don't knock it until you've tried it. And don't avoid the question. This may not be an interview, but I'm curious."

"Fine, fine," Clark said while looking dubiously at her fries once more. "Not much of a story anyways even if it was an interview. Whitney shouted my name and questioned my existence, to which I promptly told him it was a free country. Much glaring, Principal Kwan, and then I'm in English class with you."

"You'd think that he'd remember that if it wasn't for you, he wouldn't be alive but all he remembers is that your brother tipped Lana off to his little homecoming prank. But that isn't really why Lana broke up with him, _that_was because he managed to lose her necklace."

"Remind me to thank Lex for that. What's so special about that thing anyways? Every time I bring it up, she just gets sad and doesn't want to talk about it and I feel like an asshole for bringing it up."

"I forget sometimes that you're new to Smallville. The story behind it is common knowledge 'round these parts," seeing Clark's look of impatience, she summarized, "The necklace contained a piece of the meteor rock that killed her parents."

At the mention of meteor rock, Clark paled slightly but recovered by diverting the subject, "Obsess much?"

Giggling at his comment, Chloe stated, "Don't get me started on theories of the many issues of Ms. Lang… but I guess Whitney finds it easier to blame you Luthors than face the fact that he fucked up."

Chuckling, Clark asked playfully, "Is that a tone of sympathy I hear in your voice, Ms. Sullivan? I'd be careful, someone might start thinking a reporter such as yourself might be becoming biased."

Chloe responded by hitting Clark right between the eyes with a sauce-soaked fry. "I'm not biased. You brother has done more to change my opinion of your family than you have. Ever since the Bugboy incident, the only acts of 'selflessness' you've done, has been an attempt to catch Lana's eye. Your brother, on the other hand, I can't seem to figure out why he's helped me and this town these past few months. Point being is that I'm now of the opinion that you Luthors aren't all that bad. Not all that good, but not that bad."

Anger danced softly in Clark's eyes and before he can retort, Chloe warns, "Careful, Clark… that temper of yours is the reason I'm the one you're having lunch with right now and not Lana."

The statement froze Clark's initial reaction, "Huh?"

"Oh come on, if I notice the danger that dances behind your eyes from time to time, you don't really think Lana would miss it, do you? It's scary, Clark, bone chilling even, and had I not faced death twice last semester, I'd probably be too scared to even let you know that I notice it. You can thank your brother for that bit of fearlessness. Point is, Clark, that your impulse to emotion might just be the reason Lana keeps sidestepping every time you try to ask her out on a date. Other than that, I really don't know why you two wouldn't be a couple by now."

"Or maybe Lana knows, like the rest of this town, that Luthors aren't to be trusted," said a familiar voice from over Clark's shoulder.

So engrossed in their conversation, Clark and Chloe didn't notice Whitney until he said something. Taking care not to show his superspeed, Clark got out of his seat quickly and turns to face the blonde quarterback. "Whitney," Clark says, "this is a private conversation so why don't you just leave before we have a problem."

"Funny, I don't recall freshmen being allowed open lunch," Whitney sneered, obviously ignoring Clark's veiled threat.

Clark was about to respond when Chloe tugged at his sleeve to draw his attention to half of the Varsity football team walking through the entrance of the fast food joint. Showing equal bravado, Clark remarked dryly, "Gee, I'm flattered…you brought back-up, 'cause you _obviously_ can't take me on your own."

The team heard the exchange and started to advance, only to stop at a gesture from Whitney. Seething, he snarled, "I don't need the team or anybody else for that matter, Luthor, to take you on. A fight between you and me would have two hits, me hitting you and you hitting the floor."

"You forgot the third hit… you hitting your alarm clock, 'cause you're dreaming."

A year ago, to say that Lionel Luthor would've been outraged that his son goaded a fight would've been the understatement of the millennium, but times change. Ever since Clark attended more public arenas, it has been strict procedure that if a bully tried to fight him, Clark was supposed to roll with the punch and avoid any subsequent hits as believably as possible until security or someone stopped the fight. _We can't risk discovery, son, they'll take you away from Mother and I. You'll be in a lab for the rest of your life so as much as it pains me to tell you this: you have to swallow your pride when it comes to fights._ However, since his recently gained invulnerability, Lionel saw the rules had to be changed. So Clark was sent to observe various martial arts masters to learn, not the art itself but, what the art of self defense should look like. He was still never to engage in actual fighting, just appear to use martial arts to subdue his opponent until proper parties intervened.

As he saw Whitney throw the punch, Clark reacted with just enough speed to not appear inhuman but enough to still avoid it. Looking as if he deflected the punch, Clark made a quick motion and grabbed Whitney's wrist to twist Whitney's arm behind his own back. Using his superior strength, Clark held it painfully there. _I should break the bastard's bones. How I wish I could, just one little twist or a bit more pressure. I could say it was because of an 'improper execution' of the martial arts maneuver. But there will be too many questions and I can't risk that…no matter how much he deserves it or I want to._


	8. Chapter 07 Strange Visitors pt 2

TITLE: Elseworlds-Power

AUTHOR: William Rayne

EMAIL: knytmare@yahoo.com

RATING: PG-13

 DISCLAIMER someone else owns 'em, I'm just taking them out to play. Don't sue me, I have no money 

FEEDBACK: Desired like none other.

NOTES AND NEWS: Thanks to Deia for helping me with story development and being an "über beta queen and grammar Nazi." Props to DuMont for helping beta. As always: bold italics for stressed, italics for thoughts or voice-over, and underlines for sarcasm or disgust.  

This is a *huge* work in progress, so expect possible revisions to previous chapters. Been busy with school, so haven't had time to write.

Oh yeah, I'm horrible with tenses, so please forgive me, I'll try to clean and tighten that up some in the future.

124

Chapter 7

Clark stormed into the mansion, past Lex's office and towards the gym. Lex looked up and seeing his brother's mood and direction, jotted down a note to have some of the equipment replaced. A moment later, he heard the muffled explosion of what he believed to be one of the punching bags. _Give him some time to cool down and then ask what the hell he's pissed off about._

There are few and far between times when Clark has lost his temper enough to get destructive, and today just happened to be one of those times. As he stood over the destroyed punching bag, Clark wondered why he had ever wanted to transfer schools to be in this town.

"Now I know from personal experience that the first day can be rough, but was it _really_ bad enough to warrant such destruction, Clark?" Lex asked gently from the other side of the room.

Tilting his head so that he can barely see his brother over his shoulder, Clark replied, "I remember you destroying a lot more after that incident at Zero, Lex."

Lex winced slightly at the memory, "That bad, huh?"

Clark chuckled at Lex's reaction, "Almost. I guess I am being a bit dramatic about it."

"You? Dramatic? Perish the thought," Lex said dryly.

Grinning a bit more, Clark replied, "No need to dig it in, Lex."

"Fair enough. Care to talk about it? Or do you want me to leave you to destroying more of the gym?"

"It's just that…" Sighing, Clark organized his thoughts and continued, "You ever wonder if your life could be different somehow? You know, wish you lead a normal life?"

"Yeah, I did, back when I was your age…"

"Careful Lex, you're starting to sound like an old man, 'Back in my day…'"

"Do you want an answer or not?"

"Please, continue."

"As I was saying, I use to wonder about that a lot when I was younger, and sometimes even imagine myself in a different life. Then, much as I hate to admit it, I found myself agreeing with Father… that sort of daydream was ill suited for me and they are for you as well, dear brother. As much as we try to deny it, Father is right, we're men of greatness. You, more so than I. We're not meant to lead normal, ordinary lives… as much as we'd like to. The minute you start to accept that, the better off you'll be."

Clark took a bit to process this and stated, "Yeah, but still… it might just be a bit easier to have a normal life."

"Life, normal or otherwise, is never easy. You never answered my question, what's eating at you?"

"Whitney."

"Ah," Lex said as the matter became clearer, "the quarterback's harassing you and having to play the dupe when you could easily put him down is really getting to you, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't really bother me as much if it wasn't the fact that the whole school supports his grudge against me."

"You're letting them win."

"Huh? No I'm not."

"Yes. _You are_. If they have you this emotional, they're winning. Father would say you're letting them make you weak. I, on the other hand, believe that you're letting them get to you. In the grand scheme of things, what they think of you doesn't matter unless that's what you think of yourself."

"When you put it that way…" Clark mused as he grasped the logic his brother presented.

"Besides, not everybody in the school supports him, unless something happened with Lana and Chloe that I'm unaware of."

"True. I think I'm gonna go for a walk. Think. Maybe even visit the Kents."

"Not to pry, But what is your fascination with them?"

"Nothing really," Clark said, becoming slightly uncomfortable at the inquiry but hiding it well. "We just have an understanding."

Lex looked at him skeptically.

Clark added, "Besides, Mrs. Kent reminds me an awful lot of mother."

Lex's skepticism turned into a nod of understanding.

****************************************************

As Clark went to the Kent farm, he was glad that Lex didn't pry further. What neither his brother nor father knew was that about a month back, Clark was forced to reveal his uniqueness to the Kents. He could've let Mr. Kent die, but something inside of him said that was too high of a price to pay for his secret to be kept. Surprisingly, the Kents took his 'mutant' abilities in stride. Clark's actions had earned their respect and discretion and ever since then, they treated Clark as the child they could never have. He had come to Smallville, more times than either Father or Lex knew of, to talk with his new surrogate family about his troubles and sometimes to help where he could on the farm. This strange bond between them caused Clark to wonder at times if his life could've been different.

Martha and Jonathan had always given him sound advice when it came to his courting of Lana. They even tried to encourage him to help Lex, Chloe and Pete more with their strange encounters with what Chloe had dubbed the 'Meteor Mutants'. Clark, for the most part, reminded them politely that the more he helped with those sorts of dealings, the more he risked exposure. They respected his desire to remain under the radar and didn't press him too hard. _Besides_, he mused, _I help out when I can… when the risk is minimal. Lex and his 'Scooby' gang do well enough on their own._

Clark was used to keeping secrets, but over the past few months, he had gained a lot more secrets than he could ever imagine. It made him sometimes wonder if he'd ever be able to share them all with someone. After all, neither of his 'families' knew the whole truth about him. With these thoughts, he knocked on the front door of the Kent household.

Martha heard a knock at the front door and peeked out the window curtain to see Clark Luthor standing at the door. Smiling, she opened the door and said warmly, "Clark?! It's so good to see you."

"Hello Mrs. Kent, is Mr. Kent around?"

Taking one look at Clark, Martha asked, "Rough first day?"

"How did you know?"

"Woman's intuition. Not to mention it just shows on you, Clark."

Smiling, Clark responded, "I'll have to work on that."

"Anyways, Jonathan is in the barn. Are you going to stay for dinner?"

"Uh…"

"I'll bring out some pie in a bit, think it over."

"Sometimes I think you missed your calling in sales, Mrs. Kent."

"Please, Clark, call me Martha. Mrs. Kent makes me feel old."

"Um…I'd feel weird being on a first name basis with you Mrs. Kent. No offense but…hey, would you mind if I called you Mom? I mean, you and Mr. Kent are practically family, knowing my secret and all."

Smiling, Martha spiritedly said, "I wouldn't mind at all. In fact, I'd be honored."

Clark entered the barn to find Jonathan chopping wood. "Mr. Kent?"

Jonathan stopped his work and turned to face Clark, "Clark. How are you? What can I do for you this time?"

Worried that he might be a nuisance, Clark responded, "If I've come at a bad time, I can always come back later."

Chuckling, Jonathan said, "No, no. I could use a break. What's on your mind, son?"

Clark took a log to sit down on and recanted the day's events to Jonathan. Jonathan listened intently, and as Clark ended his tale, Martha came in with 2 slices of pie.

"As much as I hate to say it, Clark," Jonathan stated, "your brother is right. You're letting them get to you. It'll get better, you just have to earn people's respect. You can do that in a day."

Clark didn't have a chance to respond as a black-clad figure descended from the rafters of the barn, kicking Clark off of the log, sending him flying head over heels back into the barn wall. The figure then grabbed Jonathan and threw him into Martha, sending the two out of the barn. Clark recovered from the kick, set himself in a low crouch, and looked up at his assailant and growled, "Big mistake."

The figure before Clark was shorter than him, maybe five and half feet tall, and was dressed very much like the ninjas of Hollywood depiction, except for the metal mask. Clark grinned and used his superspeed and strength to hit his opponent in the chest, sending the ninja into one of the loft posts. Assuming the fight was over, Clark turned to check on the Kents and in doing so, didn't see his opponent flip and rebound off the wall with uncanny finesse that sent the dark clad figure flying back towards Clark's back. The assailant punched Clark in the small of the back, knocking the Luthor off balance.

Clark had the wind knocked out of him, and found himself crashing into the tractor. He got up, dusted himself off and looked to see his attacker looking at him curiously. "That's it you Turtle's reject, no more Mr. Nice Guy," Clark said angrily.

Going into what he liked to think of as "hypertime", a state where everything seemed frozen in time, Clark rushed toward his opponent to deliver an uppercut, backed up with every ounce of strength he possessed. He was completely bewildered when the ninja sidestepped and deflected his punch. Before Clark could react, he found himself in the same painful position he had put Whitney in earlier that day. A metallic voice said from behind him, "Tell your father to stay away from Suicide Slums or he will lose a son."

To emphasize the threat, the figure suddenly twisted Clark's arm and Clark screamed in anguish as he felt the bones break. Clark threw his head back and heard a satisfying crunch as he blacked out from the pain.

****************************************************

He woke up to the murmurs of a worried Martha, "Clark?! Are you all right? Try not to move. Jonathan, call 911."

Using his good arm, Clark grabbed Martha's and rasped, "NO! No paramedics, call my brother."

As Mr. Kent nodded and turned to go make the call, Clark added, "One more thing. Lex doesn't know that you know." Seeing that they understood what he meant, Clark succumbed to the darkness that called to him.

**********************************************

Then next thing Clark knew, he was feeling groggy and he could hear the voices of his brother and father.

_"How did you allow this to happen? A ninety degree angle, you say?"_

_"I don't know, he's been out for hours. Toby set the bones. Once that was done, he started healing up like he always has… like it was a cut or something."_

_"This isn't right, after that explosion, I could've sworn he was indestructible."_

_"So could I but you've seen… can't get an IV in him. Maybe it has something to do with…"_

_"With what, Lex?"___

"With my getting my ass kicked," Clark replied as he became fully conscious. He shot Lex a quick look and faced his father to say, "I'm surprised you took time out of your busy schedule to come see me. After all, you left it up to Toby, Phelan and I when Lex got hurt at Zero."

"Son," Lionel began with genuine concern in his voice, "I was overseas then and came back as soon as I could. How are you feeling? Is there anything I can do?"

"Save it for the press, Dad. Clark, you feeling well enough to tell us what happened?" Lex interjected.

"Lex," Clark said softly and looked at his brother as Clark realized that Father, for once in their lives, was concerned for someone other than himself. The family was silent for a moment as the tension hung in the air. Clark broke it by turning to Lionel and asking directly, "What's in Suicide Slums?"


	9. Chapter 08 Strange Visitors pt 3

TITLE: Elseworlds-Power

AUTHOR: William Rayne

EMAIL: 

RATING: PG-13

SPOILERS: none

DISTRIBUTION: , email me

DISCLAIMER someone else owns 'em, I'm just taking them out to play. Don't sue me, I have no money

FEEDBACK: Desired like none other.

NOTES AND NEWS: As always: bold italics for stressed, italics for thoughts or voice-over, and underlines for sarcasm or disgust. 

This is a huge work in progress, so expect possible revisions to previous chapters. Been busy with school, so haven't had a chance to write much.

Thanks to DuMont for the beta'ing.

92

Chapter 8

Metropolis, January 7, 2002

The ninja landed on the balcony of a penthouse suite and strode into the doors that lead into the bedroom. As the ninja walked past the bed, the metal mask fell on the bed, and a stain of blood dropped onto the red satin sheets unnoticed. Touching a panel underneath the vanity, the ninja pulled out a cell phone and hit send. When the other end answered, the metallic voice stated simply, "The package has been delivered. The debt is repaid."

"On the contrary, my dear, the debt will be paid when the matter is fully settled. One way or another," replied a harsh voice on the other end of the line.

"I am not an assassin. You would do well to remember what I am and who my people are. You and yours assisted us long ago. Now you presume to order us like your trained lapdogs?"

"I presume nothing. Would you shame your clan further by not fulfilling your charge? It is the action or lack of action that must be done, not the message. Actions speak louder than words. The Luthors hold the key to your release from the charge."

"You walk the dagger's edge, Temple. We will see how your message is received but know this: we will assist you in this matter however the blood of an innocent will not become the price we pay for our obligation to you."

Temple replies, "That, dear child, is entirely up to the Luthors. If Lionel fails to heed the message, an example will be shown. There are many ways to lose a child without resorting to murder."

The line went dead as Temple hung up, leaving his words hanging in the mind of the ninja. Frustrated, her hand shot up, grabbed and tore the voice modulator from her suit. Seething, she crushed it and hurled it against the wall while letting out the scream of the warrior she was trained to be. Suddenly she is overcome with a devastating cough and she wiped the blood that dripped from her mouth. _He managed to injure me, how is that possible. I'll need to heal for a while. If I don't, I'll be dead in a matter of minutes._

Striding towards the bookcase, she slid out Nietzsche's Will to Power and the bookcase swung in to reveal a room with what can only be described as a black metal sarcophagus and a mirror off to the left. The lid of the coffin-like structure slid effortlessly as she depressed an unnoticeable button. Inside there was a breathing mask similar to that seen in fighter jets as well as a liquid. Sliding yet another hidden panel near the head of the casket, she programmed in 3:00. _That ought to be enough time._ Slipping off all her garments except an odd set of tight-fitting silver bracelets with markings that seem like alien hieroglyphics, she slipped into the metal coffin, donning the mask and lay still. As the lid slid over and she closed her eyes to rest, Marie Douglas of the Hasigawa Clan cursed her grandfather for putting her in this situation.

Metropolis, April 25, 1984

Tsutomu Tanaka of the Hasigawa Clan did not approve of his daughter's marriage to the gaijin, William Douglas, but knew that he could do nothing to dissuade the rightful Heir of the Legacy of the Ancient Ones from her wishes. He could only hope and pray that the gaijin sire a daughter as strong as his own as well as respect the Way, Path and Tradition of the Warrior that his daughter and future grandchild would follow, just like he and his mother before him had followed. _Oh revered Mother, may my choices and sacrifices not be in vain,_ he thought as recalled the deal with the devil he made to protect his family in coming to this country.

Osaka, Japan, 1959

No one heard about it in the news and history will not have it saved for future generations, but if you were or are a member of the Hasigawa Clan, 1959 was a time of brutal war against a once trusted ally. It is referred to as 'The Great Exile' by future generations after only a century in America. Compared to the time the clan spent in Japan, a century is a blink of an eye for long before there was history, there was the Hasigawa Clan.

Every member, Heir or not, knew the history of the clan for they know the history of the Legacy and those are irrevocably tied to one another. In a time before record, what would become know as the Hasigawa and Shoji Clans warred against preternatural and human forces alike and were losing until the gods that were known as Eru Clan approached the two Clans. The power the gods possessed was great and the three gods Gaeru, Rushi and Zadu where more than enough to turn the tide of darkness. However, the gods of Eru said that the time had come for them to leave the mortal plane and transcend to the sky. The leaders of all three clans asked, "But what of humanity? How are we, mortal men and women, to survive without your help? How are we to survive in this realm?"

The gods responded by turning to the leader of Hasigawa Clan and said, "Kaeru Hasigawa, in our time here, you alone have demonstrated power tempered with mercy, strength tempered by humility, and courage tempered by wisdom. You are fit to possess these."  Then they bestowed upon Kaeru Hasigawa and mankind what would become known as the Legacy. "They shall grant you our powers as long as you continue to possess these qualities. You can choose to wield such power until our return or you may choose to leave it to one you deem worthy as successor."

For almost three centuries, Kaeru possessed the power of the gods themselves and he defended the mortal realm in the name of truth, honor and justice. He also learned, that with such power comes a price and he tired of remaining eternally young while he watch those he protected and loved wither away into old age. So among his descendants, he searched for a worthy successor and found it in Miaka Yasukawa. It was when the Legacy was passed that the second price was learned for it is said the second it was passed, humanity caught up to the Kaeru and he faded into the dust he should have been long ago. It has since been learned that only a few minutes after removing the Legacy does the wearer revert to being human with all of its frailties. It has also been learned that the women of the clan yield more power when it comes to the Legacy than any of the men of the clan. With that knowledge, the women of the clan have obtained the respect and honor contrary to traditional cultural customs.

"Go, now, Tsutomu!" his mother ordered, "Take the Legacy and flee. You are the rightful Heir, go and protect this world as is the wishes of Ancient Ones."

"But Mother," he replied, "Perhaps I can wield…"

"Never suggest such shame again, Tsutomu," his mother snapped at him, "It is better that every member of our clan die this night than for the Legacy be used for personal gain. Humanity needs a champion, not our clan…a single champion and you are the chosen of this generation. Flee, my son and live another day to give me grandchildren and to see your own as well."

Tsutomu nodded as his mother kissed his forehead and shoved him out of the door. For two years he ran, not knowing where to flee to but knowing that he must. It was the desperation to get as far away as possible that he made the deal with Sam Temple that his granddaughter would curse him for. In exchange for a future favor, Sam would take Tsutomu and his future wife to America, provide them a new identity and set them up in Coast City, California. In 1962, after a tip from a surviving member of the clan, he moved to Metropolis, Delaware where the family has since stayed.

Metropolis, January 7, 2002

As Marie rose from the regeneration chamber, she was thankful that her mother married into love and money so that Marie would have some enjoyment in her life as Heir. She thought fondly of her last memories of her mother. It was a few days before the meteor shower in Smallville, her mother claimed to have had a vision. In the vision, she said, the Ancient Ones said that one of them would return soon in the midst of fire from the sky. Grandfather and Mother argued about the meaning of the vision and then the meteor shower hit. Mother decided to see if there was any truth to the rest of the vision. Before leaving, she told her daughter, "Marie, dear, mommy is going away on a business trip. I'll be back in a few days and I'm sorry I'll miss your first few days of training. Remember you're now Heir to the Legacy and must behave accordingly."

The last either of them heard from her pertained to some strange caves that seemed to tell of the same ancient legend their clan has kept for millennia and that also seemed to contain the same symbols as that of the Legacy. Her mother's body would be found a few days later, miles outside of the town. Marie desperately wanted to avenge her mother, but her grandfather held her back saying it wasn't time yet. It wouldn't be until next year that she would learn what he meant by that. She stepped out of the coffin-like device. At her touch, the sequence of hieroglyphs she pressed lit up and the bracelets widened and shrunk to assume the shape of normal bracelets. She slipped them off and let them clatter to the floor. Binding up her shoulder-length auburn hair, she regarded herself in the mirror and squinted. _Damn, wearing off already,_ she thought as she grabbed her Lisa Loeb type glasses. _That's better._

The world now in focus, she went out of the room into her bedroom and closed the bookcase behind her. As she gathered up the remnants of earlier events, she noticed that the machine was blinking. Her father's voice came from the machine and said, "Marie dear, I do hope that your day wasn't too stressful."

"No it wasn't daddy," she replied to the recorded voice.

"If you're not too tired, I do hope you remember Friday evening's gala."

"Do I have to go?" she said with a girlish pout.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to but I could really use your support in these dreadful soirées."

"Oh fine. I'll go, but I'm going to cut out early if I don't like it."

The machine beeped and she proceeded to call back her dad while mentally composing her actual response. As she called, she pondered what would happen next in her life and hoped that the Luthors wouldn't be at the Gala even though she knew they would. _That'll be interesting_, she thought even though she knew that Clark would have no idea that she was the reason he would be wearing a cast at the gala. _Silly boy probably thinks he was beat by a guy too. All those Luthors are chauvinistic. _She sighed as she got her father's voicemail and left a message that said she'd accompany him to the event.


End file.
